Defense: No Evidence Undocumented Immigrant Wanted to Shoot Steinle
By Janie Har ••
The defense attorney for a Mexican man accused of gunning down a woman on a San Francisco pier says prosecutors have not presented any evidence to support what he calls a “wild narrative” that he wanted to hurt someone. Sam Brock reports.
The defense attorney for a Mexican man accused of gunning down a woman on a San Francisco pier says prosecutors have not presented any evidence to support what he calls a “wild narrative” that he wanted to hurt someone.
Closing arguments were underway Monday in the trial of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, who is accused of murder in the death of Kate Steinle in July 2015.
The case touched off a fierce national immigration debate because San Francisco officials had released Garcia Zarate under the city’s sanctuary city policy.
Defense attorney Matt Gonzalez says video evidence shows an unusual amount of activity in the area where Garcia was an hour before the shooting.
Garcia Zarate claims the gun he had found fired accidentally, killing Steinle.
Garcia Zarate was "playing his own secret version of Russian roulette," a prosecutor said in her closing argument Monday.
Kathryn "Kate" Steinle was a 32-year-old medical device sales representative who was shot and killed in July 2015 after a man fired a gun at an unsuspecting crowd at San Francisco's Pier 14.
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Kathryn Steinle was taking a stroll with her father on San Francisco's Pier 14 on July 2015 when a bullet struck her back and ruptured a major artery. Father Cameron Faller (C), associate pastor at the Church of the Epiphany, conducted a prayer service at the site where 32-year-old Steinle was shot and killed by Francisco Sanchez.
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Steinle's father attempted to give her mouth to mouth until the paramedics arrived, but she died shortly after arriving at the hospital. Steinle's last words were "Dad, help me. Help me," according to a prosecutor on the trial.
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(L-R) Attorney Frank Pitre speaks as Brad Steinle, Liz Sullivan and Jim Steinle, look on during a news conference on September 1, 2015 in San Francisco, California. The family of Kate Steinle who was killed by an undocumented immigrant, have filed claims against San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, the Bureau of Land Management and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their role in their daughter's death. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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(R-L) Brad Steinle, Liz Sullivan and Jim Steinle, the family of Kate Steinle who was killed by an undocumented immigrant, look on during a news conference on September 1, 2015, in San Francisco, California. The criminal case against the Mexican man accused of killing Steinle set off a national firestorm over immigration.
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An attorney holds the copy of a claim filed against the Bureau of Land Management for their role in the death of Kate Steinle who was killed by an undocumented immigrant using a stolen BLM officer's gun, during a news conference on September 1, 2015 in San Francisco, California. The family of Kate Steinle who was killed by an undocumented immigrant, have filed claims against San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, the Bureau of Land Management and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their role in their daughter's death. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Jose Ines Garcia Zarate pleaded not guilty to charges that he shot and killed 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle as she walked on Pier 14 in San Francisco with her father the week before. The defense argued that the 40-caliber Sig Sauer pistol went off accidentally after finding it under his seat on the pier.
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Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, right, enters court for an arraignment with San Francisco public defender Jeff Adachi, left, on July 2015, in San Francisco, California. He was 'playing his own version of Russian roulette' when he fired into a crowd.
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San Francisco public defender chief attorney Matt Gonzalez compared pulling the trigger of the Sig Sauer to be the same as that of a squirt gun. He continued to argue that his client "had no motive; he didn't know Ms. Steinle."
Jeff Chiu/AP
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon arrives at a courthouse in San Francisco, Monday, Oct. 23, 2017. A trial begins for Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, a Mexican national who set off a country-wide immigration debate after he fatally shot Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier on July 1, 2015.
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Jim Steinle, center, and Liz Sullivan, right, the parents of Kate Steinle, walk to a court room for closing arguments in the trial of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate accused of killing their daughter, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Jose Ines Garcia Zarate had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation when Kate Steinle was fatally shot in the back while walking with her father on the pier.
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Matt Gonzalez, chief attorney of the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, speaks to reporters at a courthouse in San Francisco.
Jeff Chiu/AP
In this Oct. 23, 2017 photo, Matt Gonzalez, chief attorney of the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, speaks to reporters at a courthouse in San Francisco. The bullet that killed Kate Steinle two years ago ricocheted off the ground about 100 yards away before hitting her in the back, later launching a criminal case at the center of a national immigration debate. Lawyers for Jose Ines Garcia Zarate argue that the ricochet shows the shooting was accidental.
Eric Risberg/AP
San Francisco Deputy District Attorney Diana Garcia walks to a courtroom for closing arguments in the trial of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate accused of killing Kate Steinle, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, in San Francisco. Garcia argued that the gun gave Garcia Zarate power and that if it was an accident, "why didn't he say so?"
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A large photo of Kathryn "Kate" Steinle who was killed by an illegal immigrant in San Francisco, is shown while her dad Jim Steinle testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, July 21, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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Liz Sullivan (C) mother of Kathryn "Kate" Steinle is comforted while her son Brad Steinle (R) sits nearby during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, July 21, 2015 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony from family members who have had loved ones killed by illegal immigrants. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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Jim Steinle, father of Kathryn "Kate" Steinle who was killed by an illegal immigrant in San Francisco, arrives to testify before a Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, July 21, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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Brad Steinle, brother of Kathryn Steinle, hugs a victims family member during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, July 21, 2015 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony from family members who have had loved ones killed by illegal immigrants. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
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(L-R) Brad Steinle, Liz Sullivan and Jim Steinle look on during a news conference on September 1, 2015, in San Francisco, California. The family of Kate Steinle who was killed by an undocumented immigrant, have filed claims against San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, the Bureau of Land Management and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their role in their daughter's death. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Liz Sullivan and Jim Steinle, the parents of Kate Steinle speak during a news conference on September 1, 2015, in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Jim Steinle looks on during a news conference on September 1, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Brad Steinle, (L) is comforted by his father Jim Steinle (R) as he speaks during a news conference on September 1, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Brad Steinle, brother of Kate Steinle speaks during a news conference on September 1, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Riya Bhattacharjee/NBC Bay Area
The murder trial started Monday, Oct. 23, 2017 for Jose Ines Garcia Zarate who sparked a national immigration debate after he shot and killed Kate Steinle two years ago at Pier 14.
Surveillance footage shown in court appears to show Garcia Zarate in the fatal shooting of Steinle throwing something in the water and leaving the scene after she is struck. (Oct. 26, 2017)
In the trial, prosecutors show jurors a video of a police interview with Garcia Zarate where he appears to confess to the murder and then contradicts himself. (Nov. 1, 2017)
The defense walks out of the courtroom as the crowd tries to read into every movement after resting their case. (Nov. 9, 2017)
Riya Bhattacharjee/NBC Bay Area
Judge Samuel Feng leaves out cookies for reporters every day in the hallway. When asked about the verdict in the SteinleTrial he says “No comment.” (Nov. 29, 2017)
He was playing his own game, San Francisco Deputy District Attorney Diana Garcia told jurors, deriding as implausible the defense argument that he accidentally shot a weapon he didn't know was a firearm. Defense attorneys were scheduled to present closing arguments later.
Garcia Zarate had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation when Kate Steinle was fatally shot in the back while walking with her father on the pier in July 2015. Garcia Zarate did not deny shooting Steinle but said it was an accident.
The shooting happened during the presidential campaign and touched off a fierce debate over the country's immigration policies. San Francisco's "sanctuary city" law bars local officials from cooperating with federal attempts to deport those in the country illegally, and the city had released Garcia Zarate from custody despite a federal detention request.
The prosecutor on Monday referred to Steinle as a "vibrant life" taken too soon but otherwise did not dwell on the victim in a closing argument that lasted about an hour.
Instead, she painted a picture of a man who hid a firearm in his baggy clothes, went to a pier filled with tourists and whirled about on a stool for more than 20 minutes before shooting it at Steinle's back.
"He knew exactly what he was doing," Garcia said.
Garcia Zarate said he found the stolen gun wrapped in a shirt under a chair on a pedestrian pier and that the weapon accidentally fired when he picked it up. The bullet ricocheted on the pier's concrete walkway before it struck Steinle.
His attorneys say the ricochet showed the shooting was an accident. Much of the testimony during the monthlong trial has focused on ballistics experts.
A judge ruled last week that the jury of six men and six women can consider a more serious charge of first-degree murder in addition to a second-degree murder charge. Jurors are expected to get the case after closing arguments.
Before the shooting, Garcia Zarate had finished a federal prison sentence for illegal re-entry into the United States and was transferred in March 2015 to San Francisco's jail to face a 20-year-old charge for selling marijuana. The sheriff's department released him a few days later after the district attorney dropped the marijuana charge, despite a U.S. request to detain him for deportation.
President Donald Trump said during the campaign that Steinle's death was another reason the United States needed to build a wall on its southern border and tighten its immigration policies. Since taking office, Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding from places with similar sanctuary city laws.
Defense attorneys have told jurors that Garcia Zarate lived on the streets of San Francisco after being released from jail, scraping together a living by collecting recyclables and scavenging for food.
